The moment I bought my tagine I knew this traditional Moroccan dish would be the very first meal I’d cook in it. Kefta Mkaouara is a simple, no-nonsense spicy meatball tagine that is to die for.

You’re talking wonderfully seasoned meatballs that are slowly simmered in a sauce made from onion, garlic, tomatoes, spices and (in my case) ras el hanout and harissa. These ingredients combined create a deep, rich flavor that all come together in a savory meal that can be eaten as breakfast as well as dinner.

And last but not least: you poach a few eggs in the sauce. Heavenly, I say.

Ingredients:
 

Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp hot paprika powder
1 small onion
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
pinch of cayenne
1 tbsp oil

 
Sauce:

1 large onion
1 large garlic clove
2 14oz cans diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ras el hanout
4 medium eggs
harissa
pepper
1 tbsp oil

Directions:

Combine the ground beef with the salt, pepper to taste, cumin, hot paprika and a pinch of cayenne.

Grate a small onion and add it to the beef. Mince a bunch of parsley (about 2 tbsp) and knead it in there.

I used a small ice scoop to make equal sized meatballs.

Give the large onion a chop.

 
I soaked my tagine for 24 hours before using it and slowly let it come to temperature. Keep in mind that you’ll need a flame divider to use the tagine on your stovetop.
 

Poured some oil into the tagine and cooked the onion in there. This will go slow.

Heated a little oil in a skillet en gave the meatballs a head start in there.

Didn’t cook them all the way through, I merely browned them on the outside.

Add the meatballs to the tagine as soon as the onions are soft, along with the grated garlic.

You can use fresh tomatoes for this (go for 2 pounds), but I prefer to use the canned version. Add 2 cans.

Season the tomato sauce with 1 tsp salt, pepper, ground cumin and ras el hanout.

 
Normally you’d add cinnamon to the sauce, which I didn’t because the ras el hanout already has cinnamon in it. If you don’t have ras el hanout, replace it with a little extra cumin and a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.
 

I spiced things up by adding a nice bit of harissa.

Give it a good stir.

Put the lid on and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

After 20 to 25 minutes you crack 4 eggs on top. Close the lid and let it simmer for another 10 minutes, until the egg white have set but the yolks are still runny.

 
This was fantastic! Though I normally make this in a Dutch oven and that works fine, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tagine gave me a better result. It was almost like the meatballs continued to brown during cooking as well.
 

Serve with chewy and warm Moroccan flatbread. I know you’ll love this as much as we did!